Liberte Pretty Cure
by magicalveronica
Summary: As the Happiness Charge Pretty Cure fight the Phantom Empire in Japan, Blue recruits other legendary warriors around the world to do the same. In Montreal, Canada, two girls by the name of Emilie and Rosalind are doing just that, protecting their beloved city from danger.
1. Chapter 1

"Mlle Lavoie, Mme et M Fortin… Mlle Lavoie, Mme et M Fortin…" sang the girl breezing down the street with ease on a pair of well-worn roller blades. She toted two large bags, one in each arm, maneuvering them both as she maneuvered herself in and around the people on her route. She knew her path well, for it was one she skated down many, many times in her days. She could fly through the streets of Ville-Marie without any incidents on a normal day. That however, was not when those streets had an attractive young man wandering them aimlessly.

As she lifted her head from rereading the address on one of her bags, she caught sight of said attractive young man. Being a citizen of a city filled with many different attractive people, she didn't pay the man much attention until he looked directly at her and halted his movement. She felt a feeling of adrenaline, like if she was about to jump off her roof again for the umpteenth time. The odd sensation took her aback, stopping her from redirecting her path away from the man.

_Crash._ The delivery bags went flying, now crumpled, upside down and most likely completely disheveled inside. The young man and the girl were now both on the ground, but in a very compromising situation. The girl was quite literally _lying_ on top of him. His breath was delicate so as to not overly disturb the girl. When she realized the situation, the girl scrambled off of her crash victim, trying to get up and away as fast as she could. Her efforts were in vain however, as the wheels on her feet whirred as fast as she moved and returned her to her behind on the ground.

The young man, who she could now see was _very _attractive with his elongated face, odd pale blue hair, and his crystalline blue eyes, returned to his feet and stared at her for a moment. Then he blinked and extended his hand with concern. The girl took it and stood up with minimal balance underfoot. The man then stepped away before she could say anything, and began to assemble her dropped belongings. He managed to fit everything in his own arms, and then returned it to the girl's arms. The last item in his hand was a bracelet, and once she had resituated her load, he held it out to her.

"Are you alright, um, Emilie?"

Emilie, the girl with her arms full, blinked in confusion, and slowly nodded.

"_Comment_…? How… did you know my name, M.?" Emilie questioned. Her thick eyebrows scrunched as she pondered how he could've known. As she noticed the bracelet in his hand, she exhaled with a chuckle. "Oh."

It took her a moment before she remembered the situation. She gasped, and her eyes widened as she quickly snatched the bracelet from the young man's hand and returned it to her wrist.

"I am so very sorry, M.! Did I…" She paused to try remember the exact word in English she was looking for. As the language was not something she was proficient in, her attempt to speak to the obvious tourist in it was like a death wish for Emilie. "Did I- I… uh, hurt you?"

He chuckled, raising his hand to his mouth as he did. "No, I'm fine," he smiled, "but, just so you know, I do speak French too."

Emilie sighed in relief at both his well-being and his fluency française. With the relaxed smile upon her face, the relief about the latter was evident. No longer did she have to mentally translated her thoughts. Emilie's nightmare was over.

"Do you know where you are going M.? Do you need help?" Emilie asked him.

"N-no. I'm not looking for any place in particular at the moment, just taking the sights in." He replied, then looked around the street. "Maybe though, you could help me. Do you have any suggestions of sights to see?"

Emilie scratched her nose for a moment, then her face lit up as she thought of the perfect place to take the handsome young man. She grabbed him by the wrist and began to skate in the direction behind him, giving him a tug to follow. "Follow me! I know a good place!"

"A-ah ok then…" He responded as he began to chase after Emilie's beeline down the road towards a small cafe.

Emilie sat across from the young man, who sipped on the coffee then ate a fork-full of the poutine he ordered. The stringy, gooey melted cheese swung and smacked him in the chin, at which Emilie giggled.

"I never asked your name did I, M.? How rude of me." Emilie tried to engage the young man in some conversation, since he appeared a little too fascinated with his gravy and cheese to uphold one. As she waited for him to respond, Emilie took a massive bite of her smoked meat sandwich, even dropping some of it in front of her.

"Ah, my apologies. My name is," The young man paused to wipe the gravy from his mouth. "Blue."

Emilie laughed and nearly choked on her food. She swallowed what she had eaten and continued to chuckle a little. "Blue? What kind of name is _Blue_?"

"My name? I don't understand your confusion." Blue said curiously, baffled by the laughter.

"Sorry, it's just, that's a colour - a dog's name maybe - but not… well, you know, a guy's name." Emilie said before taking a drink of her milk. She quickly wiped away her milk moustache and smiled apologetically at Blue.

"I understand."

Emilie stared at Blue for a moment and let out one last breath of laughter. With a shake of her head, she said, "Obviously you're not from around here, so what brings you to Montreal?"

Blue brushed his hair back and his eyes wandered away from Emilie. As he raised his hand to his hair, a small stone fell out of it and bounced onto the table. Emilie, who was about to take another bite of her sandwich, laid it down and reached for the stone. Blue froze momentarily as Emilie silently examined the stone. She spun it around between her fingers, and admired the way it shone in the light. She smiled and held it out to give it back to Blue, and as he slowly lowered his hand beneath hers, she felt a similar rush of adrenaline to when she first encountered Blue. Her hand relaxed and the stone fell into Blue's hand. She pulled it back and turned her head away, her eyebrows furrowing as she wrung her hand.

"A-are you alright Emilie?" Blue asked hesitantly.

"Yes… Yes!" Emilie shook her head and returned her gaze to Blue. She gazed up at the clock that was above the door of the cafe. Her eyes widened and she jumped up suddenly from the table when she saw the time. She had allowed herself to get ridiculously off track, as customers were expecting their orders and her parents expected her to make them. She gave her curly chocolate hair a twist and threw it over her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, M. Blue, but I've forgotten all about my deliveries! I really must go!" Emilie explained. Blue smiled and nodded. Emilie was lifting her delivery bags off the ground beneath the table when a scream resounded from the street.

Emilie and Blue both turned their attention to the source of the high-pitched wail. The first thing they both saw was a mass of people running in fear, and second was the entity from which they ran. It was a large monster that resembled a Transformer, as it was a rampaging, walking car. It donned red shades and a red scarf besides its automobile appearance. Nearby, Emilie noticed that, cowering behind a Canada Post box, there was a small child, crying for its daddy.

"Non! We've got to do something M. Blue! That poor child!" Emilie looked at the man with a frantic expression. His face wrinkled as he looked down at his hand which still contained the small stone. He looked back up at Emilie and held out the stone. Emilie squinted at the stone in confusion. Hesitantly she took it, and it began to shine.

The stone was enveloped in light, and slowly grew into a cellphone-shaped device, topped with a couple of strange cards. Emilie stared at the bundle in a mix of confusion and horror, then she looked back at Blue.

"What are these?!"

"They're what you'll need to fix this," Blue nodded once. "I believe in you Emilie, you can do this." Another scream rang out from yet another fearful person, and Emily gulped.

"I-I don't know what you mean, but… ok…?" Emilie said as she hesitantly began to run towards the monster. Her breath became more rapid and her heart beat heavily in her chest as she approached. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Her fingers tightened around the device in her hand as she rolled to a stop a few metres away from the monstrous car.

_I'm not sure what to do with these… but it's worth a try. _Emilie took another deep breath and opened her mouth. She didn't know what to expect, but she sure didn't expect what she was about to say.

"Pretty Cure…" She trembled. The device opened up, and the cards lifted and placed themselves perfectly on top of the interior, so that an outfit was outlined by them.

"Pretty Cure… changement miroir roulement!" She cried. The words rose up from inside with flow of energy that surprised Emilie. She felt like she knew what she had to do. Emilie's finger struck the button on the device, and the screen of it began to glow.

A light enveloped Emilie, causing her to gasp in surprise. The whole process felt surreal, like she was in the midst of a dream. Her hair magically grew very rapidly, then like an elastic, shortened and shortened just as quickly. As her hair changed in length, it also changed from its chocolate colour to that of rich, thick maple syrup. A light red cloak fluttered around Emilie, and slowly clothing began to return to her body, however, it was not the turtleneck and jeans she was once wearing. Instead, it was the outfit that was detailed on the cards. As it appeared, Emilie gained a white blouse with puffy sleeves, and similar puffy white shorts. Next, a navy vest, and a bow and ornament adorning it, then a warm red scarf wrapped itself around her neck. Emilie raised her hand towards her hair, and a heart shaped ornament with a red maple leaf attached to it appeared under her touch. Finally, a pair of red and white boots were formed around her feet and red gloves around her hands.

Emilie's feet returned to the ground and she stood still for a moment of awe. She looked down at herself - what had become of her? She looked like a completely different person after that bizarre light show. She felt another surge of energy flow through her, compelling her to speak once more.

"Le goût sucré de la vie dynamique, je m'appelle Cure Maple!" The words rang out across the street. The running people paused for a moment before continuing their escape. The attention of the monster in front of her was gained as well.

"Pire…" It bellowed. Emily, now Cure Maple, started breathing quicker and quicker. Her body was frozen solid in place. She didn't know what she was going to do or how she was going to stop even herself from becoming road meat.

"Papa!" The young child from behind the Canada Post box cried once more. The child's voice rang in Maple's ears. The reason why she ran to help was refreshed in her brain. She wanted to save the people - she wanted to help that child. She closed her eyes and focused on trying to summon the courage to do something.

Suddenly, glowing blades popped out underneath her feet. The rapid addition to her height caused her to wobble, and she almost fell over. At her feet were a pair of ice skating blades, and it gave her an idea. Maple scraped her right foot on the ground, like a bull preparing to charge. With the same boost she gave herself while roller skating, Maple set herself speeding off towards the monster.

As she wrapped around the monster's legs, it turned its gaze to follow Maple. She tried her hardest to think of her next step, and it quickly came to her - she had to stop it from moving. With what was she going to do it though? Her eyes narrowed and she scratched her nose, then the flap of one end of her scarf came up and whipped an idea right in her face.

Maple quickly grabbed the scarfs end and pulled it both from her face and then completely off of her neck. As the other end flew away from her, she managed to catch it with her other hand. She continued to skate around the monster's feet, all the while it kept turning and turning to figure out where she was headed. She skid to a quick halt, then changed directions after quickly spinning the end of her scarf around one of the monster's legs. She whirled around and around the monster, and with every lap tied the legs tighter and tighter together until the monster began to wobble. Then, she stopped, and gave the scarf one final pull.

The monster came crashing down. Seemingly from nowhere, a woman donning all pink flew in from the sky and floated over the tumbled monster.

"Ma belle monstre! What have you done?! Stop with your cute tricks!"

"Cure Maple! Use the bracelet on your wrist!" Blue called from the cafe where he waited. She looked over at him, then back at her wrist. With a gulp, she gripped the brace on her wrist.

Cure Maple raised her arm in the air and then lifted the other to spin the dial on the brace. The heart in the centre glowed brightly, and Maple's hand started to warm.

"Maple… Fleur…" Maple stretched her fingers. "du sucre!" Her arm flew towards the ground in a rush, and the concrete between her and the monster began to crack. The growing crevice raged towards the monster, and when it reached the monster, it stopped. A whole burrowed into the ground, and a few seconds later, the roots of a tree sprouted out of the ground. The roots were crystalline, like rock candy, as they wrapped around the monster.

"... et fini!" The candy roots contracted, getting tighter and tighter, until they exploded. The monster faded away, and the pink lady screeched as she disappeared into thin air. In place of the monster was now a man, lying next to a car. The little child came out from behind the Canada Post box, and ran towards the unconscious man. As Cure Maple's scarf floated through the air and wrapped itself back around her neck, she smiled at the child. The child shook their father, and the man woke up, only to sit up and wrap his arms around his child. The happy reunion gave Maple such a feeling of happiness, and her face wrinkled with a large grin. Without her even noticing until it was over, she transformed back into regular old Emilie. The destruction that the monster had caused slowly reformed into what it was beforehand. The people stopped their running and their screaming, and after a moment of doubt, hastily returned to their business. Emily turned around, as she could hear Blue's footsteps approach her.

"Good job Emilie! I knew you were the one." Blue raised his hand to pat Emilie on the shoulder, but Emilie flinched away at his touch.

"_What _was that?! _Who are you?!_" she hollered at him.

"I told you, my name is-"

"I meant, what kind of creep are you? What did you do to me?" Emilie frantically looked back and forth between her hands and Blue's nonchalant face.

Blue chuckled. "I only gave you the tool to use what was inside of you. You had the desire to help people, and inside was the power to do it."

Emilie frowned, furrowed her eyebrows and scratched her nose. She sighed, "I don't really think that answers my questions, but fine. I'll believe you for now," she paused and began to turn away from Blue, only to sharply turn her head back to look at him, "but I will want more information later."

She moved to turn away, but Blue raised his arm to grab hers. She stopped, but didn't turn around immediately. Blue turned her hand over, and placed another device in her hand. She pulled it back towards her and began to skate away.

_What even was that whole thing? Who _is _that Blue guy…? I-... I'm so confused.. what did I just become?_ Emily rolled away and back towards the cafe to regather her deliveries.

"I'll see you later Emilie! Call me on that phone if you wish to talk." Blue called out after her with a smile on his face. Emilie who tried very hard to focus on her delivery bags, also tried very hard to pretend she didn't hear him. After her little magic act she didn't know how to feel. Should she be glad she became a superhero and saved people? Or should she be upset and concerned that some random (albeit attractive) guy turned her into some sort of freak?

_"You had it inside of you," he said. How exactly did I "have it inside of me"? I'm just a random kid!_ Emilie handed the payment for her and Blue's meal to the server and made a mad dash away from the cafe and back onto her heavily offset route. As Blue and the sight of her first battle faded away, and she could see Mlle Lavoie's apartment building in the near distance, Emilie sighed. She thoughtlessly buzzed the apartment and waited for her customer. Her mind was consumed with her battle, and Blue, and the entire afternoon. When Mlle Lavoie answered her call, she barely noticed. She quickly scrambled to give the lady her order and apologize for being so late. She received her payment and thanked the woman before skating away down the street. Emilie quickly delivered her other order, and tried to make her way home with a clear mind.

As Emilie made it back to her family's store and exhaustedly stomped her way up into their apartment, she barely paid any attention to her sister calling to her. She wandered into her and her sister's shared room, and fell weightlessly onto her bed. With too many thoughts circling her brain, Emily took a deep breath and stared at the transformation device and cards which she held up over her head.

_So… I'm a Pretty Cure..._


	2. Chapter 2

"So… we… need to… do… what?" Emilie asked the girl sitting next to her at the table. The two of them were sitting around the long table in Emilie's kitchen. Emilie groaned and slammed her head on the table. The girl sitting next to her had a very pained look on her face, while she fidgeted with her hair.

"Rosalind… you're good at this stuff, right?" Emilie asked in a muffled voice, as her mouth was half way smushed into the table with frustration. She lifted her head and rested it in her hand. She looked at Rosalind, who shifted nervously.

"Ah, yes. I-I am. We need to do this together though, Emilie." Rosalind replied, as she pushed her hair behind her ear, then fixed her glasses. "Let's… start, shall we?" She reached for the textbook sitting on the table, then flipped it open. The pages fluttered until she stopped at the page they needed.

"Rosalind… les sciences sont très… stupide." Emilie shifted her head from one hand to another as she spoke. She pushed herself out from the table and stood up, then walked over to the kitchen counter. Her fingers wiggled before diving into round jar of candy sitting on the counter. As she licked her lips, she grabbed a handful of little bonbons out of the assorted mass of them. With her treats in hand, Emilie shuffled back over to the table and plopped into the chair once more.

"Want some candy?" Emilie said as she spilled the candy out on the table, only to pick one back up and unwrap it, popping it into her mouth with no hesitation. "I mabe ih myselp." She chewed on the candy and smiled.

"Ah, no thanks. I can't have it," Rosalind replied, slightly shoving the candy pile towards Emilie, "but regardless, do you think we should be focusing on our project instead of eating? I think it would be a good idea." She picked up the book and placed it in a better position between her and Emilie.

Rosalind readjusted her glasses and took a deep breath. "So, first things first, we need to write the information about the different parts of the system. Then, we make a model, alright?" Rosalind looked up from the page and up at Emilie, her finger remaining on the page. Emilie, with her pained expression, just nodded. Rosalind smiled. She stood up and reached for her bookbag, then pulled out a binder with paper filled to the brim. With the smile remaining on her face, she dropped it point-blank in Emilie's lap. "I am going to mix paste for making the stomach and intestines. I have already prepared a draft of what we should write in that binder, please find it and sort it out how you think would be best."

As Emilie hesitantly opened the binder full of neatly sorted paper, Rosalind grabbed a few more other items from her bag and went over to the kitchen sink. As she concocted a makeshift paste, Emilie pulled out nearly a dozen papers and tried her hardest to sort things out on the table in front of her. Soon enough, all the papers she had chosen were sitting in a messy pile and Emilie had occupied herself organizing the candy she had laid on the table before. Rosalind returned to the table with the paste and laughed at Emilie's efforts as she laid it on the table next to the pile of paper.

"Je m'excuse… I just have trouble concentrating sometimes." Emilie said as she popped a few of the candy into her mouth.

Rosalind's smile widened. "It's no big deal, I understand. Let's maybe try something else then." She picked up the papers and the textbook and moved them towards her spot on the table, replaced them with paper mache materials in Emilie's spot. She plucked the candy from their semi-neat lines and moved them aside. She looked at Emilie, who scratched her nose and tilted her head in confusion. "Don't want to get the candy full of paste, of course."

"Of course!" Emilie giggled. She looked down at the materials before her and delicately poked the paste.

"I'll handle the writing and you can start making the stomach and such," Rosalind said, as she laid out a picture of the digestive system in front of her project partner.

Emilie nodded and smiled. "I think this is a much better way to do it. I'm not really good at the science smart stuff," She started to ball up the newspaper Rosalind had placed in front of her. Before she got her hands covered in the sticky paste, she laid down the crumpled paper shape and tied her long frizzy hair back with the elastic around her wrist, then resumed where she was with a wide smile.

"Alright then, this'll be good." Rosalind said, as she started sorting papers and organizing everything just so.

About an hour later, as Emilie was finishing up the last intestine, and Rosalind was eagerly watching her do so, as her work was done, the sun began to set and the warm light was very visible through the kitchen window. Little Marie Levesque came waddling out of the bedroom down the hall with her blanket in hand, surprised her big sister by tugging on the paste-covered girl's shirt.

"Emi… I'm hungry," Marie cried. Her bottom lip quivered as if she was about to cry. She batted her eyes at her big sister as Emilie turned around to look at her. Emilie reached out to pat her head very carefully, stretching her sticky fingers up so she didn't add to the list of things she had to do that night.

"That's okay, _ma petite poupée_. Maman won't be home for a while yet, so she left me some money for dinner. I'll go wash my hands and then you, me and Rosalind will go for a walk and get something, okay, bébé?" She smiled at the tiny girl, who in turn smiled back at her. She spun out of the chair and skipped over to the sink, rinsing the gluey substance off her hands.

"Why don't we make something instead? We don't have to eat out." Rosalind suggested. She looked at Emilie curiously.

"Maman says Emi is not allowed to cook things. It turns all black and icky when she does." Marie chimed in. She her eyes blinked in a flutter, the partially toothless smile painting innocence on her little face.

Rosalind laughed, and Emilie walked to her sister and picked her up in the air.

"Hush you, we don't need to talk about that," she placed Marie back on the floor and patted her bum, as she was now facing the hall, "Go put your blanket away and grab your shoes."

Marie ran down the hall and swung a big turn into the shared bedroom. A few seconds later, she emerged once more, her bright smile wide as ever as she leapt at Emilie.

Emilie and Rosalind slid on their shoes and coats and the trio waltzed into the stairwell. Emilie turned around and locked the multiple locks on the apartment door, and they headed down the stairs and through the Levesque's dark and empty store.

The three of them made their way down the streets from Emilie's home, with Emilie wiping Marie's running nose every few minutes. Emilie absentmindedly led them to the cafe where she had been all but a few days ago. When she realized where they were, she groaned. Rosalind looked at her with curiously narrowed eyes, but just shrugged and let it go. She walked over to a table and sat down, and motioned for Emily and Marie to do the same. Emilie hesitantly joined her, placing Marie on the ground next to Rosalind for a moment while she grabbed another chair for her sister.

A waitress came to greet and serve them, and when they placed their orders, there was naught but an uncomfortable silence. Emily was staring down at her folded hands which rested on the table, and Rosalind was watching the pedestrians in the street. Marie was twirling stringy strands of her hair, and occasionally chewing on them and sniffling.

"Emi, are you okay?" Marie asked, poking her inattentive sister, as her face changed to a frown of concern. Emilie jumped, and shook her head as she realized it was just a six year old's finger.

"What was that, _ma poupée_?" Emilie asked. Marie's confusion was clear, as she had stopped playing with her hair and scratched her nose in a similar manner as Emilie.

"She asked if you were okay," Rosalind replied, "which is something I am wondering as well. Emilie, you've been zoned out since we got here." Her face was very flat and serious, and she chewed her lip as she spoke.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"Hello again Emilie."

Emilie turned around to see the tall, handsome young man with sky blue hair from her last visit to the cafe standing behind her. Her eyes widened and her mouth screwed up in mix of fear and confusion.

"What are you doing here Blue?" She asked.

"I enjoyed the food we had here the other day. That cheese was very chewy." Blue replied with a smile. He made a little waving motion to Marie, who was staring at him with a wide open mouth. "Do you mind if I join you ladies?"

Emilie nodded hesitantly as Rosalind motioned towards a nearby chair. Blue dragged it over and gracefully descended upon it.

"Is this a friend of yours Emilie?" Rosalind asked the girl opposite her. Blue smiled and chuckled.

"Sort of… we met the other day while I was making deliveries for Maman." Emilie fidgeted in her chair.

"Oh… how pleasant," Rosalind laughed nervously. She turned to Blue, "Je m'appelle Rosalind. Et toi?" She extended her hand across the table towards the young man. He shook it and smiled.

"I'm Blue, nice to meet you, Rosalind." He looked over to Marie, who had lost interest in him and had returned to playing with her hair. "And who is this beautiful young princess?" He delicately lifted Marie's hand from her face and shook it slightly.

"That's Marie. My sister." Emilie replied before Marie could. Marie giggled and fluffed Blue's puffy shirt sleeve.

"What a kind big sister you are Emilie." Blue said, just as the waitress returned with the three girls' food. Blue declined her offer to make an order. He folded his hands on table and looked back and forth between the three girls.

As they ate, Blue kept Marie entertained, making very strange faces and twiddling another sparkly rock, similar to the one he gave to Emilie, in his fingers. The sparkle kept Marie's attention quite well, as quite frequently, the half eaten fries in her mouth kept falling out as her mouth gaped in awe.

"Emilie…" Blue started, as Emilie and Rosalind were stacking their dishes on the table between them. "... while we're here, do you have anything to ask me?"

Rosalind looked back and forth between Blue and Emilie, very confused by his question, as it seemed out of place to her for such new acquaintances to be in such contact. Emilie slowly shook her head.

"I told you I would call if I needed to ask you anything. I'm fine. Nothing's happened since." Emilie replied.

_Qu-est ce que c'est…? What exactly is their relationship?_ Rosalind's confusion only built as they continued to speak. She decided it best that they return to Emilie's home soon.

Before she could make the suggestion, Marie yawned. "Emi…. I want to go home now… I'm sleepy…" She rubbed her eyes and reached over to tug on Emilie's sleeve. Emilie turned her gaze to her sister and smiled.

"Of course _bébé_, we can go home," she looked Blue, "if you'll excuse us." Emilie pushed herself from out from the table and stood, walking over to hand the waitress her payment. She returned and picked up Marie from the chair, wiping her mouth as she waited for Rosalind to get up. Blue stood up himself, and pushed in the chairs behind the girls as they walked away from the table.

"I hope to hear from you soon Emilie. Have a good night girls." Blue said as they walked away, Rosalind waving warmly and Marie waving her arms wildly above her head.

As they headed back to the Levesque home, Rosalind cleared her throat to speak.

"Um… Emilie, who… was that guy? You… didn't seem to… like him very much."

"It's… not that I don't like him. He just gave me a very weird gift last time we met and I haven't made up my mind about how I feel about it." Emilie paused to yawn. She was looking directly at the ground in front of her while she spoke, but her hand was once more scratching the top of her nose, this time very aggressively.

"Oh, I see… Well, I hope it all works out, he seems like a kind fellow." Rosalind said, noticing Emilie's demeanor, now wanting to divert the conversation from such a melancholy subject. She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and laughed nervously.

All was silent between the three girls walking home, until a scream rang out in the street, giving Emilie a fearful sense of deja vu. She stopped in her tracks and turned around on her heels, and as she noticed the plumes of dust in the air around the corner, a frightening feeling filled her chest. She looked at Marie in her arms and her chest got tight. Emilie took a deep breath, and moved to hand Marie to Rosalind, her hands visibly shaking.

"Is everything alright Emilie?" Rosalind asked, as Emilie's sudden actions gave her a great sense of concern. She took Marie from her and held her tight in her arms, waiting for a response from Emilie.

"Here," Emilie held out a small keychain towards Rosalind, "please go on ahead of me, I have to do something." Her hands were still shaking as the keys jangled and clinked in her hand.

"But-"

"Please. Take Marie home now, please. _Please._" Emilie begged her. Rosalind sensed the urgency in her voice and quickly nabbed the keys, and started to shuffle quickly down the road towards the Levesque's shop. Emilie took a deep breath, then grabbed the cellphone device out of her coat pocket. Just standing there to look at it for a moment, she touched the screen to activate it. There was a small icon with the name "Blue" next to it, and she shakily tapped it. The phone rang for just a second and Blue picked up on the other end.

"Is that another attack like I fought last time? Because I have a bad feeling." Emilie frantically asked, her voice as shaky as her hands.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Are you going to-"

"I'm on my way, don't worry." Emilie paused and pulled the phone away from her ear for a moment, covering the speaker to take a deep breath. "Blue, I'm sorry about how cold I've been, it just took a bit of adjustment - this whole Pretty Cure thing. I-I think I'm ready to be Cure Maple now."

"That's great Emilie." Blue said with a happy tone. "We can discuss this later, however." The phone clicked off. She quickly shoved it back in her pocket and removed the other device instead. She clicked the cards into place and pressed the button.

"Pretty Cure… changement miroir roulement!"

As before, Emilie's hair changed length and colour, and her clothing was replaced in a flash of lights. She was once again Cure Maple, but still as shaky as she was before transformation. She gulped and began to run towards the location of the attack.

"Le goût sucré de la vie dynamique, je m'appelle Cure Maple!"

Rosalind noticed the flash of lights behind her and stopped, spinning around. She caught a glimpse of Cure Maple as the lights faded from where Emilie was standing mere moments ago. She repositioned her glasses and squinted into them, trying to get a closer look at the scarved girl running away. Rosalind looked at Marie, who was now also looking at Cure Maple running away, then at the key in her hand, before looking back up at Cure Maple's small, distant figure. Something in her gut told Rosalind that she should follow the girl, despite her mind telling her she should just heed Emily's instructions.

Cure Maple reached the scene, where she noticed Blue was standing next to a street post watching the monster thrash around the street. She looked up as she noticed the building slowly gaining a golden sheen. There was a dapper dressed man with a scowl most fowl upon his face. He reminded Maple of a taller version of the Belgian sleuth from her mother's favourite mystery novels. She flexed her fingers and counted to three, giving the brace on her arm spin with each count. She ran towards the monster, which took on the appearance of a traffic light, with its light permanently stuck on red.

Maple glanced down at her feet as she was running to see if she still had her ice skating blades. She sighed with relief when she seen them, as she planned on using them for her attack. Zipping around the monster on her blades, Maple bent her legs to leap. She crossed her fingers and touched them to her lip as she pushed herself off the ground.

_Boom!_ A blast of thick syrup erupted from Maple's wrist as she leapt. It headed right for one foot of the monster. She followed it with another explosive syrup blast to its other foot, before delivering a final blast to its facial area. As Maple skidded to a stop, the gooey syrup began to harden around the monster's feet and face. Quite angrily, the monster tried to remove the substance from itself. Merely being a monster created from an inanimate object, it wasn't too bright, so its first move was to bash itself in the face. It fell very quickly, and with a heavy thud that shook the ground. The ground shaking wobbled the blades under Maple's feet, and they went out from under her.

The mustachioed man lowered himself from the top of the building to the ground behind Maple. He scoffed at her, which brought her attention to him, and she twisted around to look at the man towering over her.

Going against her better judgement, Rosalind ran down the street towards the commotion. She spotted Blue, and looked around for Emily frantically. All the while, Marie was clinging to her very tightly, and she could feel that the tiny girl was scared, as she could also feel tiny fingers digging into her back. As she approached Blue, she seen him smile, with what appeared to be relief. Rosalind shook her head and tried not to overthink it.

"M. Blue! What's-" Rosalind began, before noticing the toppled monster, the girl on the ground and the man standing above her. "What is going on here?"

Before Blue could answer, Rosalind looked back at the girl on the ground. It was the same girl who she saw running down the street in place of Emily. In that moment, it all made sense of itself in her head.

"Is that Emilie?" Rosalind's head snapped back to look at Blue. The expression on her face was almost one of anger, but it also held a bit of fear and concern within it. Blue glanced over at the battle, then back at Rosalind. He nodded solemnly.

"Isn't she in trouble? Do something!" Rosalind cried, her voice shaking. She didn't know Emily that well, as they were only classmates, but the last thing she wanted was to see her get hurt. Especially since the younger Levesque was witnessing it from her arms as well.

Blue held out his hand. "Take this then." Rosalind hesitantly reached to meet his hand with hers. He dropped a small blue stone in it, and clasped her hand tightly around it. Rosalind glanced down at her hand, then back at Blue.

"AAAAH!"

Maple was flying through the air. Since they last paid her any attention, she had stood up to face her elderly opponent, and tried to fight him. However, her inexperience had caught up to her, and with a tap of his cane, he blasted her through the air nearly 100m. This caught all of the three's attention. Rosalind felt Marie's grip around her tighten, and her face burrow in to Rosalind's shoulder. Her hands rolled the stone in her hand, and she slowly pulled Marie from around her.

She held out the tiny girl to Blue, "I'll do whatever it is I need to if you just keep Marie safe." He nodded and took the girl and placed her on the ground next to him, where she clutched onto his hand. Rosalind took a deep breath and looked down at her hand, slowly opening it, as the stone had begun to glow. The light in her hand became another pink device topped with a couple of cards. She delicately picked up the cards and flicked the device open, placing them gently into place.

Rosalind just stared at the cards for a moment, and as the seconds passed, the words came to her mind.

"Pretty Cure… changement miroir roulement!"

Light surrounded her, blinding her. She moved to shield her eyes, but when she opened them, her glasses were no longer there and a feeling of awe filled her. She had never been able to see without them, but somehow, she could see better than ever. A light blue cape billowed around her, and as her hair grew and grew, it twisted itself into a bun, then a braid trailing from it. Rosalind touched her hair, the new style feeling out of place, as she was not one for doing things with her hair.

A long very plain dress of blue and gray wrapped around her, and before she could take it in, it was covered by a darker blue jacket, one that brought to mind all the memories of her grandmother and her old fashioned clothing choices. The jacket was adorned with a bow and a brooch, and her arms with white elbow-length gloves and a small pink gadget on her left wrist. Last but not least, white stockings and a pair of strange boots covered her feet. The new outfit gave Rosalind a feeling of confidence, and she smiled at the look of herself.

As her feet returned to the ground, Rosalind felt a cold breeze. She wasn't sure if it was just the excitement or if she produced it, but in that moment, it felt reassuring - comforting.

"L'écho de glace dans le vent, je m'appelle Cure Frost!" The words gave Rosalind strength. She wasn't completely sure what was going on, but she felt like she could do anything like this.

Meanwhile, the mustachioed man was approaching Maple once more, intending to make a more permanent blow. Cure Frost realized his plan and started to run as quickly as she could in that direction.

"_EMILY!_"

Frost's hands were held out in front of her, and there was a wall of jagged ice separating her and the man. Behind her, Maple looked up in a daze.

"Rosalind…? Is that… is that you?" Maple asked as she tried to push herself up off the ground. She winced as the soreness from slamming into the concrete began to make itself apparent.

"Are you ok Emilie? Or, rather, uh… Cure Maple?" Frost said with a smile. She turned around to offer Maple assistance. Maple took her hand and with a swift pull was on her feet once more. She hugged Frost tightly and then looked at her, beaming an even wider smile.

"Merci merci merci beaucoup! Now I'm not alone anymore! You don't know how happy that makes me Rosa- er, Cure Frost!" Maple scratched her nose, and looked at the line of ice jutting from the ground. Her eyes widened.

"Wow, that's so neat," she laughed. The man with the lethal cane was losing his patience for their frivolities. He aimed it in the direction of the two colourful teens. Emily heard the clicking of a shot from the bottom of the cane and looked up, shaking her head with a smirk.

"Maple… fleur du sucre!" She shot out her arm in the direction of the speeding energy blast. A crystalline tree sprouted from rushing roots in between her and the shot, taking the blunt of the attack, and shattering. However, instead of the shattered pieces falling to the ground, they flew in the direction of the elderly man, knocking him away in a plume of dust.

When she turned around to face her new partner, Frost was looking at the man's dusty destination with concern. "Is he… should we…?" she asked.

"Don't worry," Maple took a step in Frost's direction and clasped her hands around Frost's white glove, "we got this, partner."

Frost smiled and took her hand from Maple's, giving the band on her wrist a few spins. She walked over to the toppled monster, which was still squirming and fighting with the crystallized syrup. Shakily taking a deep breath, Frost raised her hand in the air.

"Frost…" her hand trembled anxiously as she began to spin it around in a little circle. Snow began to flutter down from the sky and form a continuously thickening funnel. Frost felt a great chill, like she was in her own little slice of a cold December night.

"...toundra vague!"

The funnel rose into the air slightly until it had left the circulation of Frost's body, and it spun rapidly in the direction of the monster. It lifted up the monster into it's inner spin, and as it was sucked around and around, it began to appear as if it was in a daze.

"... et fini!" In a quick flash, the funnel sucked up into nothing and the monster disappeared with it. Frost sighed with relief and gently touched her chilled cheek. Maple jumped on her from behind, knocking her to the ground. They transformed back into plain Emilie and Rosalind as Blue approached with Marie holding his hand. As they got closer, Marie let go and pounced on Emilie, similar to how Emilie had just tackled Rosalind.

"Emi! You were so cool! You had pretty clothes and you went _pew pew_ and things went _BOOM_ and-" Marie started into a frenzy of amazement before Emilie pressed her hand against her head and her jaw, gently shutting her mouth. After a moment of looking at her sister, who was looking back with wide, amused eyes, Emilie couldn't help but laugh. When she started laughing, she couldn't help but keep laughing. Rosalind, who was watching the interaction, began to laugh as well, laughing at the laughter. Soon enough, all four of them were laughing, even Blue, who chuckled to himself.

"Rosalind, here."

Blue interrupted the laughter by getting the girl's attention and holding out a phone similar to Emilie's. She took it and looked it over.

"What's this?" She asked as she pressed the button and the screen lit up. On the screen were three icons, a blue heart, a red maple leaf and a blue snowflake. Before Blue could respond, she tried pressing the maple leaf. Next to her, Emilie's coat pocket buzzed. She pulled out her own phone and answered it.

"Bonjour? _Bonjoooooour?_" Emilie was frustrated by the lack of answer, and her screwed up face showed it.

Rosalind laughed. "Emilie?" Emilie looked over at Rosalind, who was shaking her phone in her hand pointing to it with the other. Emilie groaned and slowly pulled her phone from her ear. She hit the end call button, and quickly shoved the phone back in her pocket.

"Its a Cure Line, to answer your question Rosalind," Blue replied with laughter still in his voice. "You can call each other or me with it."

"Alright, thank you. I expect we will be speaking again soon." Rosalind said as she stood up. She held out her hand to shake Blue's, and he lightly shook it and smiled.

"Its been a pleasure meeting you girls, but I really must be on my way," Blue said, before looking up at the nearly set sun, "and I imagine you girls need to get home. It's getting dark and I doubt your parents would like having this little princess out all night." He took Marie's hand, as the two Levesque sisters were now standing, and kissed it. She giggled and was still looking at him in her state of shock and awe.

"Au revoir M. Blue!" Rosalind and Emilie called out in unison as the young man walked away. Rosalind then looked at Emilie, who picked up Marie in her arms and then put her hand on her hip.

"Let's go home, before Maman kills me for the paper mache mess." She scratched her nose and let out a little groan. Emilie could picture her mother blowing a gasket when she seen the sticky stomach and mess of papers spewed out over the small kitchen. Her mother was a tiny woman, but she held a lot of anger inside her when her buttons were pressed, something Emilie knew from experience. Rosalind looked at Emilie with slight confusion, but shrugged and began to walk with the Levesque sisters.

The trio walked down the block and reached Bonbon Levesque, and entered, heading through the shop. Emily noticed the light on over the bottom of the staircase to her apartment. Her mother was upstairs. She heard vulgar words booming from her home in a woman's voice as the three of them walked up the stairs. With the uttering of "_bâtard_", her mother's favourite word when Emilie did something wrong, Emilie gulped and twisted the knob.

"EMILIE ANTOINETTE LEVESQUE!" Anne Levesque's shrill voice rang through the house as she laid her eyes on the trio. "Get in this house _right now!_"

Rosalind looked at Emilie uncomfortably as they hesitantly entered the house.

"Bonjour Maman… uh, this is-"

"You take your sister and stay out all night _AND YOU LEAVE A GIANT MESS!"_ Anne fumed. She walked over to Emilie and took Marie from her sister's arms, and laid her on the floor, patting her bum to push her in the direction of the hallway and the shared bedroom. She waddled down the hall quickly, knowing even in her young age to stay out of her mother's line of red hazed sight.

"Um, Mme. Levesque," Rosalind stepped out from behind Emilie in the doorway, causing the stout woman's head to snap from her daughter to the taller girl. She looked at Rosalind with skeptical eyes.

"Who are you?"

"Rosalind Fournier, Mme. I am Emilie's classmate - the mess is our science project," she paused and tried to smile through her discomfort, "please don't be angry with Emilie, it was my idea that we go out and get dinner and let the project dry."

"Ro-" Emilie tried to interrupt - she tried to tell her mother the truth, and that Rosalind was just covering for her. Rosalind turned to look at Emilie and gave her a look that told her to just relax.

"Was it then? Hmph." Anne looked over her shoulder at the kitchen table. "Just… clean it up. And don't make such a mess next time, you silly girls." She rubbed her forehead and sighed. She walked into the other half of the kitchen and stared out the kitchen window. As Emilie and Rosalind quickly shuffled to the table to start sorting out the mess and putting it away, Anne shook her head and started putting away the dishes sitting on the counter.

"Rosalind, you live far? Need a ride home?" Anne asked from the sink. Rosalind looked up and bit her lip.

"Ah yes, Mme., if it's no trouble. I really appreciate it." Rosalind replied as she finished putting the last of the papers into her book bag. Emilie carried the paper mache organs down the hall and disappeared into her room. Anne walked over and grabbed her coat and car keys, then ushered Rosalind out the apartment door.

"See ya later Rosalind!" Emilie's voice bellowed from down the hall as the door slammed shut behind Rosalind and Anne.

Later that night, after Anne had returned from driving Rosalind home, Emilie was lying in her bed, all settled in her pajamas with Marie snoring at her side. The younger sister was half sprawled across her sister, who was on her new phone. As she was typing away on social media, a little alert popped up with a snowflake next to it. Emilie opened the message and read it.

_ Hey Emilie, I had fun today. I look forward to doing this _

_ Pretty Cure thing with you… but please, for god's sake, _

_ don't let your mother drive me anywhere again. She is _

_ a crazy driver! I thought we were gonna crash like ten _

_ times! Ah, oh well. ALP_

Emilie laughed louder than she should've, and her sister stirred next to her. She clicked the phone off, and with a smile patted her sister's head. She laid the phone on the table next to her bed and snuggled in with her sister. Pictures of Rosalind's fearful face as her mother's erratic driving jerked them down the roads filled Emilie's mind as she fell asleep, and she chuckled. Rosalind was right, Anne Levesque's driving _was_ scary.


	3. Chapter 3

The grand hall of the school cafeteria was buzzing with chatter, hooting and hollering as the lunch hour passed by. Students of L'École De La Belle Coeur aired the gossip they had gathered throughout the morning, laughed at foolish teenage jokes, and filled their stomach for the afternoon. Emilie Levesque sat at a table with two other girls that appeared about her age, and the trio was snickering over the retelling of the events of an earlier class where Emilie's teacher had left the class without their keys and been locked out by the immature grade nine boys in the class, then proceeded to mock the teacher by sitting at their desk and mimicking them. Emilie snorted as she tried to take a bite of her sandwich while laughing, and as she coughed through the laughter, she barely noticed Rosalind approach her.

"Uh… Emilie?" Rosalind spoke up, her bag held in her hand, with her fingers fidgeting with the latch. Emilie laid down her sandwich and turned to look over her shoulder. She recognized the familiar face and smiled, not noticing however, that her toothy smile was filled with bread. She licked her lips and swallowed her mouth full, then waved at Rosalind.

"Hey! Rosalind! Nice to see you again," she squirmed and hopped over a chair, pulling her lunch down the table with her. As she situated herself, she patted on the chair which she had previously occupied. "Have a seat, join us if you want."

Emilie's friends watched the exchange with curious expressions. They looked at one another and then back at Emilie and Rosalind. Rosalind hesitantly sat in the chair, and carefully laid her bag flat on the table in front of her. She folded her hands upon the bag, twiddling her fingers and biting her lip. She looked around the cafeteria, then tried to keep her gaze upon the people at the table in front of her.

"M-Merci, Emilie."

"De rien, mon ami. So, what's up?" Emilie twisted herself and leaned her head on hand. She waited eagerly for Rosalind's response, but the throat clearing of one of her friends across the table took her attention before she could get the response. The two girls wore mischievous smiles upon their faces.

"'Gonna introduce us there Em?" The girl with dark brown curls asked. She twirled one of her curls around her finger as she lowered a brow at Emilie.

"Oh! Elle s'appelle Rosalind. We, uh, worked on a project for M. Tremblay the other day, and so… yeah," Emilie explained. She scratched her nose and pursed her lips. "Aha, and Rosalind, this is Bernadette," she motioned to the curly brown haired girl who smiled at Rosalind, "and Claudine," then to the other short black haired girl sitting next to her, who gave a little nod.

"B-bonjour," Rosalind quickly smiled at the girls, "uh, Emilie, the reason why I-... I mean, I kinda need to talk to you." Rosalind reached in her bag on the table and pulled out her Cure Line. She handed it to Emilie, whose eyes quickly scanned it and widened as they did so. She rolled her eyes and sighed, then shoved the phone back in Rosalind's hands. She suddenly jumped up from the chair, and swiped up her lunch, with Rosalind slowly following in suit. Before waltzing off, Emilie turned to Bernadette and Claudine.

"Sorry ladies, Rosalind and I gotta go do some work on that project. I completely forgot about it. See you in…" she sighed," math…" she said, before she grabbed Rosalind's wrist and started directing the two of them between the busy moving teenagers in the cafeteria. They burst out of the noisy common room and Emilie sprinted down the hall with Rosalind running to keep up with her.

"Emilie, where are we going?" Rosalind with shaky breath. She was not a person who spent a lot of time running.

"To the courtyard! I know a place we can talk about this without being listened to!" Emilie waved off Rosalind's concerns and signalled her to follow in one motion. She made a sharp right and then popped through the courtyard doors. As Rosalind caught up to the doors, Emilie skipped across the grass to an old stone bench sitting off in the shade of a vibrant maple. She plopped down on it and once more patted the seat next to her for Rosalind to join her. When Rosalind reached her, she huffed and sat down with a sigh.

"So Blue messaged you, huh? I wonder why he didn't tell-" Emilie said as she pulled out her own Cure Line and started scrolling through the messages, finding a message marked important. "Oh. Whoops." She glanced up at Rosalind. "Should we give him a call?"

Rosalind nodded, and Emilie pressed the symbol on her phone that was meant to call or message Blue, the intriguing young man from Emilie and Rosalind's interesting past week. The phone rung for a few seconds before he picked up.

"Ah, Emilie, I take it you received my message?" Emilie pressed the speaker phone button before replying.

"Yes, we both did." Rosalind interjected. "I suppose before you head out of town, we better get some questions out of the way, non?" She turned and shuffled through her bag, removing a small notebook from it, which was already dog-eared and open to a page full of writing.

_She even prepared for this? Wow, she's good._ Emilie stared at the booklet in amazement. She had never prepared for anything that much, not even an English test. Rosalind skimmed the questions on her page, then cleared her throat.

"The first thing I'd like to know, Blue, is why are we Pretty Cure? What purpose does it serve?" She asked, her serious, down-to-business demeanor returning to her voice.

Blue sighed. "I suppose that's a reasonable question. You see, there is a terrible threat in this world right now, and they refer to themselves as L'Empire Fantome. Their leader… Queen Mirage… wants to cover the world in darkness. That's why we need young people like yourselves to take up the role as Pretty Cure. To protect this world, and save the other world they have already conquered, the Blue Sky Kingdom."

"Is that where you're from? That kingdom?" Emilie asked. She looked at Rosalind, who was reading through her questions again, double checking to see if she had skipped over anything of importance.

"No, it isn't, Emilie. I," he paused, "am Blue, the God of the Earth."

_Wait… God? Of _EARTH_?! _Emilie's mouth was agape - both girls were very flabbergasted by this statement. The surprise almost caused Rosalind to dislodge her notebook completely from her lap and send it falling to the ground in front of her feet.

"Mon dieu… You are a deity, M.- er, Seigneur Blue?" Rosalind asked as she picked up her book and laid it on the bench beside her. _I thought he was just an unusual tourist…_

"Oui, I am. Let's move on though. I supposed you want to know more about L'Empire Fantome, so I'll elaborate."

"Yes please, Seigneur Blue, continue." Emilie encouraged. She was now sitting on the edge of the bench.

"The woman you fought Emilie, that was Chérie. Et l'homme, who you both fought the other day, that was Vorace. I am fairly certain that at least one more general will come your way in the near future, so be on guard." Blue's voice had taken on a more stern tone, and the girls felt as though these generals he spoke of, Chérie and Vorace, and the others who may come, may end up being dangerous.

"We will be care-" Rosalind began, before the shrill class signal bell rang and interrupted her. Emilie sighed and picked up her things, then waited for Rosalind.

"Ah, that was the bell. We must go, Seigneur. I'm sure we'll be picking up this conversation later."

_Blue is leaving… that means… its just me and Rosalind left here to fight these monster things… but… we barely know each other? I don't think- wait! Aha! C'est brillant! _

"Goodbye girls." Blue said, before the phone clicked off. Emilie waited for Rosalind to gather her things and stand, before she began her ambush.

"Hey Rosalind! I have a great idea! Do you wanna hang out after school today?" Rosalind opened her mouth to respond, but before she could Emilie continued, "I'll text you later, ok? See ya!" Emilie dashed off into the building and disappeared from Rosalind's sight.

"... Sure?" Rosalind sighed to nobody but herself. Seeing the full halls inside the doors of the courtyard reminded Rosalind that the bell had indeed rung and her first afternoon class was where she needed to be. She quickly walked into the building, blending into the crowd of even quicker moving teenagers.

A few hours later, Rosalind was sitting in her French Language Arts class, reading a poetry book assigned by the teacher, when her pocket quietly buzzed. She slid it out of her pocket as nonchalantly as possible, and laid it in front of her book so she could check what it was that was making it buzz.

_bjr whats up? if u wanna hang after this class is over, _

_meet me à le bureau, d'ac? we can go for un film, ou _

_pour les mets - em _

It was a message from Emilie. _I didn't think she'd text me during class. Oh mon dieu…_

Rosalind slowly typed in her short response, trying her hardest to be casual and still appear to be reading. Texting in class was not something she was familiar with, nor did she fully comprehend how the other students did it so smoothly without getting caught.

_d'ac, see you after class - rosalind_

Rosalind sighed with relief when the bell rung at last and signalled the end of the day. She gathered her things somewhat slowly, as her anxiety over where it was that she was meeting Emilie and when and every little detail resurfaced and she didn't wish to face it. She checked her phone to reread Emilie's text message a few times, to reassure herself once the doubt returned. Once she couldn't put it off any longer, Rosalind left the class and made her way to the office area where she convinced herself actually was the place Emilie and her were to meet. Shortly, the sight of the little brunette allowed her to relax as she approached.

When Emilie noticed Rosalind, she smiled widely and waved. Rosalind scratched her head and looked around at the others waiting for people and those with various other purposes for being at the office.

"So, where do you want to go? There's tons of things we could do." Emilie asked.

"Uh, I'm not- I'm not sure? I don't really have a preference." Rosalind replied as the two of them exited the building into a breeze of brisk, chilly air.

"Would you want to visit the cinema? What kind of movies do you like?" Emilie thought about the movies she seen in the newspaper - the romances that she wished to fawn over and the comedies that she knew she'd die laughing at - but she really had no idea if those were what Rosalind was into.

"D'horreur."

Emilie stopped and her face went blank. _H-horreur…? She likes… scary movies. Mon dieu…_ She couldn't fathom going to see one, not even watching one once it was on the television.

"Mostly the cheesy 80's ones though. Horror movies today have no taste." Rosalind smiled sheepishly and looked at the ground. Usually people laughed or had a reaction like Emilie's when she shared her taste in films.

"Well then, I guess seeing a movie will be a Plan B," Emilie chuckled. She deliberated silently, wondering what other options there were. "Um, what about getting a sweet treat? You gotta love crème glacée."

"I cannot, désole." Rosalind said, sliding down her sleeve to reveal a medic alert bracelet. "Le diabète…"

Emilie sighed. "Fine, how about skating. Do you like skating?" She reluctantly asked, expecting a conflicting answer. At that point, Emilie was beginning to believe that the two girls had _nothing_ in common.

"Oh, I like skating. Wait- do you mean the one with wheels or blades?" Rosalind looked at Emilie as she bit her lip. Blades she could handle, but wheels under her feet always proved to be a disaster. That one phase where everyone was obsessed with Wheelies? That was a dark period in Rosalind's life. She was grateful when her school banned them.

"Blades. There's an outdoor rink by my house, but I don't know if its cold enough outside for it yet…" Emilie squinted and scratched her nose.

"Perhaps we could go to a skating arena? I think one's nearby. I hope they rent skates, because I don't have a pair."

"Sounds good." Emilie's eyes lit up. "Wait, what size are you?" She turned and shook Rosalind's arm, leaving the girl a little bewildered.

"N-neuf… Pourquoi?"

"Eh, you can borrow Papa's skates. His are huit en l'homme, so that should fit good enough." Emilie waved her hand in the direction of the street to their left. "Come on, let's swing by my place." She looked both ways at the light and skipped across the crosswalk, with Rosalind following hastily behind her. A few blocks away, the girls approached Bonbon Levesque once more, a place that was becoming a frequent stop for Rosalind. The store was still open for business, and Anne was serving a customer behind the counter. She looked over when the girls entered and the bell on the door jingled behind them. Anne handed the customer their change and thanked them for their business as Emilie and Rosalind walked over to the counter.

"Bonjour Mama, ça-va?" Emilie said as she leaned over the counter and kissed her mother on the cheek. "How's business going today?"

"Eh, it's alright." Mme. Levesque looked at Rosalind, "Nice to see you again, Rosalind." She smiled and looked back at her daughter, "What brings you girls back here?"

Emilie laughed as she stepped away from the counter and towards the nearest bin of candy. She lifted the lid and stuck her hand in, grabbing a few candy. "We're gonna go skating at the skating arena. We came to grab some skates. Is it okay if Rosalind borrows Papa's skates?"

"Sure, if they fit."

Emilie nodded and gestured for Rosalind to wait for her return as she headed through the back and upstairs to the apartment. While Emilie ran upstairs and rummaged through a closet until she found her own skates, and those of her father. Rosalind looked around and awkwardly shuffled her bag from shoulder to shoulder. She pondered starting a conversation with Anne, but before she could, customers started requesting assistance. Finally, Emilie returned, and Rosalind smiled.

"Au revoir, Mama, I'll be back for supper!" Emilie called out to her mother, before she and Rosalind walked out of the store. The wind had picked up since they entered the shop, and Emilie pulled her scarf up over her face with a wince. She looked at Rosalind, whose face shook slightly as they walked. There was no conversation, as getting to the stadium and to a lesser degree of coldness as soon as possible was ideal.

_I wonder… how this is going to go, with me and Rosalind… now that it's just us…_ Emilie kept taking glances over at Rosalind, who was staring straight ahead of them. She reached up and shifted her glasses so she could wipe the cold tears from her eyes. Emilie couldn't blame her, the wind stung.

_Also… wh-what does Rosalind think of me so far? I mean she's pretty nice - kinda quiet but whatever - I wonder how I come across to her though…_

When they finally got to the skating arena, there were only a handful of people there, as it was a weekday and the work day had not ended for most Montrealais folk. Emilie and Rosalind entered, passed by the disgruntled employee who cursed under his breath, and went and found a spot to settle and leave their things amongst the bleachers. Rosalind laced up her skates fairly quickly, and she waited patiently for Emilie to tie hers. Emilie, on the other hand, was having a bit of trouble, because for whatever reason, she just couldn't knot the laces. After a minute or so passed, Rosalind kneeled down and slid off her gloves, laying them on the bleacher next to Emilie. Emilie stopped fighting with the stubborn strings and just sat back and heaved a sigh. Rosalind laughed, and took about five seconds to tie the laces of Emilie's skates in neat little bows. She stood and then held out her hand to help Emilie up without falling over. Emilie took it and only managed a slight wobble. The pair slowly stepped their way down to the ice, and with only a moment of hesitance to join the other skaters - mostly children and their stay-at-home parents.

Rosalind began to glide off ahead of Emilie, but she noticed that the girl was still getting herself going from the edge. Rosalind skid to a stop, shaving the ice with her abruptness. She slid back to Emilie and smiled.

"Do you want to lean on me until you get into the rhythm of it again, Emilie?" She asked, extending her arm so that Emilie could hold on to it if she wished.

Emilie smiled back and shook her head. "No, I got this." She said as she tried to push herself off of and away from the edge of the rink. She was fine for a few seconds, but her legs began to tremble soon enough. Rosalind moved towards where she pushed herself, and caught her arm before she fell. Emilie laughed. "I guess I will be taking your offer after all."

Emilie took Rosalind's arm and linked her own through it. They skated ahead slowly at first, then picked up speed as they went around the elliptical rink. Eventually they got to the point where Emilie broke free from Rosalind's support and was skating at the pace Rosalind was to begin with. By this time, a few more people at floated into the arena, and Emilie tried her hardest to stay with Rosalind amongst the others gliding past them. Rosalind skidded to a stop halfway across the rink from the door where they had come onto the ice from, and Emilie followed about a few metres away once she slowed to a halt. She inched her way back to Rosalind, pulling herself along the edge once more.

"It's getting busy in here," Rosalind glanced around at the other occupants of the ice, "and I think it's getting late anyways. Maybe we should head home."

"Yeah, I think so too," Emilie nodded. "That and I don't want to miss supper."

Rosalind furrowed her eyebrows at that comment, then laughed and shrugged. She nodded towards the other side of the rink where the door to their things was. The two of them began to skate in that direction again, following the flow of the skaters around the loop.

Before they got halfway there, they could hear a high-pitched voice shouting behind them, and before either of them knew it, a small body was shoving into Emilie and pushing her into Rosalind.

"Get outta my way! Get out, get out, get out!" The child cried. "This is _my_ rink now!" She kept pushing people out of her way, shaking her head so that her long pigtails were smacking them as well. The little girl made a sharp left and dashed for the centre of the ice. She began to do a little spin, like a ballerina, but something was off. She kept spinning, until her feet rose from the ice and she floated up to the score box hanging above the arena. She went up and up until she reached the top of the box and sat on the edge of it. She kicked off her skates, and they fell into the centre of the ice, the blades slicing into it.

Emilie and Rosalind looked at each other, both of them getting an uneasy feeling from the bizarre actions of this little girl. Emilie's eyes went over to their things, where their PreChanMirrors were, and back to Rosalind, who nodded. As the strange little girl clapped her hands together and an announcers mike appeared in them, the duo skated over to the door as fast as they could manage. They made it to their bags and dug through them, urgently searching for their devices and cards. By the time they both found them, the little girl had begun her little show.

"Attention skaters! Je m'appelle Jalousie, and I have decided that this rink is now going to be my rink. You can leave real easy and stuff, or I can get rid of you with my little friend here," she gestured to the skates dug into the ice. All the skaters had stopped to watch Jalousie in awe, and Emilie and Rosalind took a minute themselves to return to the ice. The employee of the arena came running out when he noticed Jalousie's booming voice, and she giggled when she seen him come running.

"Oh goody goody! A guy that hates his job here! That's the perfect toy for my pal." Jalousie pointed at the employee, who gasped with her swift motion. Darkness seeped out of the floor and engulfed him, and then burst away, revealing a twirling mirror. Before anyone could react, the Jalousie's skates and the ice beneath them began to rumble. From the skates, a large monster emerged. Its green scarf flickering around it and its red shades glinting in the stadium lights, it took a shuddering step.

"Pire!" The monster bellowed, which made Jalousie giggle with delight. From the doors to the ice, Emilie and Rosalind exchanged a glance of confirmation before inserting their PreCards into their respective PreChanMirrors.

"Pretty Cure changement miroir roulement!"

The two girls endured their drastic appearance changes and received their magical outfits in a fantastical blur to both themselves and the civilian skaters. It hadn't occurred to them to hide and transform, as they knew that the Pire monster was going to cause a lot of harm.

"Le goût sucré de la vie dynamique, je m'appelle Cure Maple!"

"L'écho de glace dans le vent, je m'appelle Cure Frost!"

"Et, ensemble…" Maple added, looking at Frost, hoping she would finish the thought.

"Uh, nous sommes… Liberté Pretty Cure!"

The pair lowered to the ice once more as the glow of their transformation faded. Cure Maple sighed, glad that her partner came up with a name for the two of them.

_I'll have to ask her where she got that later..._ _But back to this, uh… problem._ "Jalousie!" Cure Maple hollered at the small girl, who was giggling at the Pire that was scaring the skaters out of the rink.

"Oh… look… its those meanies the others told me about. Those, uh… Pretty Cure? Yeah, you guys." Jalousie rolled her eyes. "Jeez, I guess you're here to ruin my fun."

"You ruined _our_ fun first, you little brat!" Cure Maple whined. She stuck her tongue out at Jalousie, at which the girl fumed. Cure Frost reached out and put her hand on Maple's shoulder, and when she looked back at the touch, Frost shook her head.

"Don't fight with her in words. It's pointless, she's a child."

"Don't fight me at all! You're not gonna win anyways," Jalousie teased. She pushed herself off of the score box and jumped down to stand on the ice once more. "I've got my big scary friend here who will turn you guys into mush."

"Frost, I'm getting sick of her mocking us. I think its time we get this started." Cure Maple said, turning her head to look at her partner. Cure Frost took a deep breath and nodded. Cure Maple moved to take a step and a sparkly skate blade materialized under her foot before it returned to the ice.

_Oh yeah! We have skates! I forgot…_ Maple then propelled herself towards Jalousie and the monster that was cracking the ice and smashing the glass around the edges. Frost followed, quickly gliding on her own blades to keep up with Maple. Maple skated around Jalousie, stopping behind her so she could charge her with Frost. Jalousie twisted around and looked at Maple quickly before looking back at the approaching Frost, and her eyes narrowed.

"Pire! Get these two, now, now, _now!_" Jalousie cried as she disappeared from where she stood. Frost slid to a stop by Maple, and their heads turned from side to side looking for their vanished foe. The monster however, was now redirecting its havoc in the direction of the pair.

Cure Maple's eyebrows furrowed and she scratched her nose. She stared at the monster for a moment, before her eyes widened with a gasp. She quickly unwrapped her scarf from around her neck and shoved one end of it into Cure Frost's hands. Frost looked at the contents of her hands, then up at Cure Maple, all in great confusion.

"Hold on to that, and stay here, d'accord?" Cure Maple said, as she spun around and wrapped her own end of the scarf over her shoulder. Before Cure Frost could respond, Maple began to skate away. She sped past the monster that was approaching Cure Frost, and then skid to a stop behind it. She looked at her friend and pointed to her right and then made a spinning motion with her finger. Cure Frost's face was scrunched in confusion, her head tilted to the side.

_What is she… does she want me to skate around it?_ Frost waited for Maple to start moving, or do something, while the monster still stomped towards her. Maple counted down from three with her fingers, then gave her a thumbs up before she began skating again to the right of where she stood. Cure Frost clenched the scarf in her hands and followed suit from the her end of the scarf. When they met, Cure Maple had a big smile on her face.

"Keep going around it, so we can knock it over!" She said as she quickly passed by her partner. With the plan much clearer in her mind now, Cure Frost nodded and picked up speed. The duo made a few more laps around the confused monster before skating as far as they could towards either end of the rink before it toppled over into the ice. As it crashed in a flurry of ice and snow kicked up from the cracking ice beneath it, Jalousie reappeared on top of one of the glass frames that her monster hadn't destroyed.

"No no no no! Pire! Get up!" Jalousie cried, flailing her arms around in a tantrum. The monster tried to respond to its master's commands, but Cure Maple skated towards it and leaped, coming right down on its head with her bladed foot. Its efforts were halted as its head thudded back down into the ice.

"Maple!" Cure Frost called out, "You get this one!"

Cure Maple nodded and flexed her fingers as she raised her left arm. She spun the colourful circle on her LovePreBrace around and around with her other hand, and as it lit up, she reached her left arm into the air.

"Maple…" her hand came down towards the ground in a rush, "fleur du sucre!" A surge of energy rumbled through the ice and burst out from under the Pire. Syrup flowed upwards over the Pire, and crystallized as it flowed. It flowed up into the shape of a tree, and once it was completely formed and hardened, it began to contract and contract, until it exploded with the Pire amidst it. The entire arena sparkled with the remnants of the attack, and there was a faint smell of syrup throughout. Jalousie was sitting it her eyes wide, and her mouth open just as wide.

"This is _not_ how it's supposed to go! No no no no no _NO_!" She screeched before disappearing once more. After a moment, there was a shattering noise, and as the Cures looked for it, they seen the arena employee emerge from his mirror entrapment. Once they were certain that Jalousie would not return, Cure Maple went to regather her scarf from the ice. She grabbed one end and gave it a pull, and the entirety of it returned to its original size as it wrapped itself back around her neck.

Cure Frost, however, looked around at the cracked ice and the chaos that the Pire had brought upon the rink. After thinking for a moment she gasped and reached for her own LovePreBrace. She slowly skated for the centre of the arena as she spun it around and around, and then skid to a stop once she was close enough to the centre. She extended her arm into the air above her, and closed her eyes.

_ I hope this works… I don't want them to have to spend a lot of money fixing this. And that guy… he'll probably get fired if they do…_

"Frost… toundra vague!" She called out, and snow began to materialize around her. It whirled and whirled around until it created a funnel, and then she quickly lowered her arm until it was nearly perpendicular with her. The funnel of snow spun around and around the rink, picking up and dislodged ice and glass from the Pire's attack. As the funnel passed over them, the cracks in the ice slowly filled in, and the glass the funnel has picked up was flung back into its place. By the time the funnel dissipated, everything in the rink looked like nothing had happened but an afternoon skate, and all that would be needed was a run of the zamboni. Cure Frost sighed in relief.

"Wow Frost! That's so cool! I didn't even think about using our powers to do that." Cure Maple said as the two of them skated for the exit and transformed back. The two of them made their way up to their things, and took off their skates in no rush. After a fight against a Pire, they were in no hurry.

"Maman should be here to pick me up by now, so I'll see you at school Emilie." Rosalind said as they approached the door. She handed M. Levesque's skates back to Emilie, who smiled and nodded. Emilie waved and began to walk in the direction of her home as Rosalind headed for the parking lot. After she got in her mother's old, rusty car, and they began to drive towards their house, she smiled at the thought of her new friendship with Emilie, staring out the window into the sunset coloured sky.

_I'm so glad… that we are going to be friends. Emilie is a really nice girl. I just hope that… nothing else comes of it._ Rosalind sighed, a noise that warranted a concerned look from her mother's eyes in the rearview mirror.

_I just don't want to ruin it again… Why does this keep happening with everyone I start to become friends with…?_

Meanwhile, in another land, atop a dark tower with a grand mirror standing at the top, three shadowed figures were knelt by a couch that sat in front of the mirror. There was a woman lying across the couch, with her head resting in one hand and a staff in the other hand. She was looking down on the three who kneeled before her, her eyes narrowed with disgust and anger.

"So…" she began, "I now have _three_ useless generals in Canada."

One of the figures raised their head, revealing themselves to be Chérie, the woman from the first time Emilie transformed into Cure Maple. She had a pained expression on her face as she lifted her head.

"Notre reine… We are very sorry-" Chérie said solemnly. The woman on the couch sighed.

"I don't care for your excuses."

"Reine Mirage, we were not expecting these girls to show up. We had no idea." The second figure said in a deeper, gravelly voice as they raised their head. It was Vorace. He raised his hand and took his hat from his head, placing it before him.

"As I said, excuses."

"But Reine Mirage! We didn't know that those dumb girls were gonna be there to mess everything up. Please, Votre Altesse, give us another chance! We can do better now that we know what to expect!" The third, much smaller figure raised their head, and as they did, the blonde pigtails of Jalousie flicked around as she rose.

"All three of you are incompetent… but fine. I'll give you another chance," Mirage said, her head tilting up and her eyes narrow, "Don't waste it."

"Of course Votre Altesse," the trio said as they disappeared from the tower in a flash.

"Why do I employ such useless people…" Mirage said with a sigh, rolling her head back on the couch. She tapped her staff on the tiled floor, and the mirror behind her flickered with an image of Blue, who was in a house with a pair of young girls and a small floating figure. She could hear their laughter and cringed at the sound of it. With a sudden movement, she slammed her staff into the ground once more, drowning out the image of the mirror in blackness.


End file.
